So what did you think of the Peanut Butter Party? A few people suggested having a weekly party with different themes and I’m considering it. Let me know if that is something you’d like to see!
This past weekend was the first weekend all summer we didn’t travel anywhere. Matt and I just recently started house hunting* and needed a full Saturday to explore some new areas and get a better understanding of our options. It is scary and exciting at the same time. I can’t help but get enthusiastic when we see places that have more than double the square footage of our current home, a gorgeous kitchen and lots of natural light. The thing is, it’s kind of like registering for wedding gifts. A few days after we registered, Matt went looking in the kitchen for our new knives. I had to remind them that we wouldn’t have them until someone bought them for us. That hope for instant gratification gives the process some extra emotional ups and downs. I know we need to take our time and closing on a home isn’t a 24-hour event.
*By house hunting I mean 2-bedroom apartment hunting. Hey, one can dream:-)
Luckily, when it comes to dessert, there is instant satisfaction. After the long day in the real estate jungle, all I wanted was some summer comfort food. I try to steer clear of stress eating, but sometimes you just need a carton of ice cream some chocolate. That night, I was happy to find some of this Frozen Mocha Brownie Torte still in my freezer.
I created this dessert because I wanted something chocolaty and decadent but still light enough to enjoy during summer. The coffee I used was a sample from Godiva that I received through the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program. (I was actually pretty excited about this because I’ve been drinking their new Chocolate Truffle flavor in iced coffee form every morning. If you like coffee and you like chocolate, it is a winner!) The fudgy layer of brownie is topped with a mocha mousse filling, a layer of chopped Oreos and whipped topping. You can make it really decadent with regular brownies or keep things light with something like No Pudge.
Disclaimer: I received free coffee samples from Godiva, but the opinions I expressed are all my own.
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Frozen Mocha Brownie Torte
Yield: Serves 12
Ingredients
- 1 brownie mix with ingredients listed on box
- 1 3.4 ounce container instant chocolate pudding mix
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup strong brewed Godiva Chocolate Truffle coffee
- 1 8-ounce container of cool whip, separated
- 14 Oreos broken into pieces
Cooking Directions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and spray a spring-form pan with non-stick cooking spray
- Prepare brownie mix as directed and bake in spring-form pan
- While brownie is cooling, prepare mousse layer; whisk together pudding mix, milk and coffee until well combined (about 2 minutes)
- Fold 1/2 cup cool whip into pudding mixture; spread over brownie
- Spread Oreo pieces evenly over mousse filling
- Spread remainder of cool whip over Oreos
- Freeze dessert for two hours or until filling is firm
- Will stay good in freezer for up to a week
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Have you bought a home? Any advice for someone looking?
Loved the PB party! (OBVI!) Also love this torte!
Mmmmmm so much chocolate and creamy stuff. Like it.
For home purchase, pull together all financial information ASAP. The bank will want to know everything. Account balances, salary history, tax returns…if in doubt, get a copy of it.
Having a serious earnest money deposit (upwards of 7-8%) makes your initial offer very attractive. Try to do it.
Avoid PMI and complex mortgage applications – put down 20%. If you can’t, reduce your househunting budget or wait.
And wait for the place that is right for you. No rush. You can buy a house 6 months from now and you will not suffer for it financially.
That said, if the place is painted a weird color, no biggie. You can buy paint.
I just bought my condo in the city 14 months ago and while the process wasn’t easy, I’m happy I did it. Good luck!
Thanks, Victoria! We are also looking at condos. So much easier than anything else.
That looks scrumptious. My wife always uses the Ghirardelli brownie mix. I’ll bet that would be good with this one.
That is one of my favorite brownie mixes!
This looks absolutely amazing!!! Love coffee and chocolate–can’t go wrong with this one!
OMG! This looks amazing. Such a creative recipe!
The Frozen Mocha Brownie Torte looks delicious! Good luck with the house/apartment hunting! ….and I LOVED the peanut butter party!
Thanks, Ann!
Oh this looks crazy good- especially in this summer heat. That brownie layer looks so dense and rich too!
The PB Party was great! This torte looks so good! Makes me curse the fact that I don’t like coffee :( Good luck with the house hunting! Remember it doesn’t have to be perfect. You can change paint, and light fixtures and stuff like that – floor plan doesn’t change. Some people find it hard to look past cosmetic stuff and picture there own stuff in the house -but if you can do that you are half way there!
Thanks, Erin! Really good points.
LOVED the peanut butter party! but….not so good for my diet! :)
this looks great. love that you added the coffee. love the contrast of the chocolate and the cool whip layers
I loved the Peanut butter party! And this torte looks absolutely fabulous. :)
This looks decadent! Good luck with the apt search!
Thanks, Maris!
You were lucky to still have any of this dessert left over! I am afraid that this decadent dessert would have disappeared quickly at our house. Simply delicious.
Well, it was definitely finished that night!
Oh. my. yum. That looks INCREDIBLE!
Holy cow, this looks great! I love frozen treats in the summer. Coffee and chocolate – you cannot go wrong with those!
I love the idea of a weekly party! I will definitely get in on that, especially if it’s a “pizza party”, yummy!
Hmmm I haven’t been to a pizza party in way too many years!
What a great dessert!! I haven’t made one in awhile so I must just have to try this! :)
Loved the peanut butter party! I’d love to see other themes. How about an ice cream party?
This torte looks fantastic. I love coffee and chocolate together, YUM!
Good luck with the house hunting. The good news is, it’s a buyers market! :-)
I would never say no to an ice cream party!
I could go for this right now. Thanks for the early morning drool.
This looks fabulous and has all of my favorite ingredients!
After a long day, nothing beats some chocolate to pick your spirits up. Bonus points with this recipe because you included Oreos (second love of my life) :)
Good luck with the house hunting. And I think you should do another block party!
YUM! I could see myself digging into this after a long, hard day in the sun!
Great photos too :)
Thanks, Tina!!
Divine dessert indeed!
my mouth is watering looking at this.. and its only 10 in the morning!
I loved the PB party! And the story about your husband looking for the knives after you registered for them :) And this torte! House searching is the most exciting/stressful thing ever. It took my husband and I almost 9 months to find and close on a house we liked. Hope it goes quicker for you :)
Hopefully it won’t take us quite so long:-)
i say yes to a theme party every week :)
This is delicious. And exactly what I want right now.
I’m in the throes of apartment searching as well…stress eating is a frequent part of my life lately! :-\
Thank gd for delicious desserts to save us!
I’m not exactly at that point in my life yet (thankfully, as it seems like an intense process)… but best of luck with your search! Your photos are really great and make the torte look so freaking delicious!!
Thank you so much, Katie!
Wow, I just bet you were happy to come home to that!
You are a genius. Can I move in with you? I want to enjoy a slice of that after a long real estate day! ;-D
You can come live with me any time, as long as you make me some of your fabulous chocolate peanut butter desserts!
Deal.
My biggest advice for hose-hunting is: don’t settle! :) My hubby and I checked out SO many houses before we found the perfect one. Be patient and the right house will turn up! :)
Thanks, Nicole! I definitely need to remember that:-)
I bet you were happy to come home to this. Looks amazing!
Lauren…what a gorgeous, chilly treat for a summer’s day! This looks wonderful! And I am looking forward to trying it! : )
Thanks, Anne- let me know if you do!
oh wow!I would devour this!!!
Good luck house hunting! I love instant gratification, but dreaming and waiting makes finally getting it even better. This torte looks SO good!
That is so true!
What a perfect dessert after house hunting! I need to get my hands on some of that Godiva coffee. Good luck finding a place!!
Break me off a piece of that! (favorite line from Clueless- totally applicable here)
Hahahaha love it!
This looks absolutely AMAZiNG!!! Seriously, I can’t wait to try this!!
Good luck with the “house” hunting! It can get so old so fast, but it will be worth it when you settle into your new place. The torte looks so fantastic-perfect for this steamy weather!
Mmmm! Looks delicious and beautiful!!
I am all over this dessert! It looks awesome. Good luck house hunting! It can all be a bit overwhelming at times! But take a step back and think of it what it will be 5 to 10 year from now. :)